


Impacts of Literal and Metaphorical Natures

by amethystviolist



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Crack, Gen, Magic Revealed, Probably bad, generic villain number 5, it is a little serious i guess, this has been sitting in my docs for seven months
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-10 21:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11135133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amethystviolist/pseuds/amethystviolist
Summary: The knights and Arthur all backed away from the powerful, dangerous, and clearly magical fire.Merlin warmed his hands on it as casually as if he had just started a small campfire with flint.“I think I'd like to wake up now,” Gwaine whispered to Elyan, and Arthur silently agreed. This had to be some sort of crazy dream, where Merlin had powerful magic and was the one protecting Arthur, not the other way around like it had been.Like Arthur only thought it had been.Arthur receives a threatening letter, but really, it's meant for Emrys. Cue Merlin trying to be a badass, some generic villains being generically evil, and the knights heroically swooping in to join the fight and look confused.A short and sweet fic about magic being revealed and a villainous squirrel.





	Impacts of Literal and Metaphorical Natures

**Author's Note:**

> I've never published my Merlin fanfiction before (but I have a whole lot more hidden away in the depths of Google Docs... *cough* MERTHUR *cough*), so do tell me if this is just terrible before I work on any more. 
> 
> I also apologize for the silliness of this fic, it's the closest to crack I've ever written.

“Prepare to leave well before sundown, Merlin,” Arthur ordered, taking another bite of his lunch. Merlin turned around from where he was poking absently at the fireplace to stare at Arthur in confusion.

“What? Why?” Merlin suddenly frowned as a possible reason stuck him. “Are we going hunting again?” he grumbled, feeling disgusted with the very thought.

“If you must know, I received a message from someone threatening to attack the city,” the king sighed, gesturing vaguely to his desk. “I’m taking a few of the knights and we’re going to go surprise this person and see if there’s any real cause for alarm.”

“So why do I have to go?” Merlin asked. He stood and brushed his hands together to clean them of ash as he continued, “It’s not like you need me to be a diplomat.”

“True. But it’s much more entertaining to make you do the things we could do ourselves on the way,” Arthur answered dryly.

“Oh yeah, I think it’s just riveting,” Merlin grumbled, and crossed the room to Arthur’s desk, picking up randomly discarded laundry along the way. “You know, soon people will start to think you lot are incompetent. Taking a servant with you since the mighty knights of Camelot can’t even light their own cooking fires? It’s ignominious.”

“Big word, there, _Mer_ lin, are you sure you know what you’re talking about?” Arthur asked around a mouthful of his lunch.

“Big head, there, Arthur, are you sure… you know... what…” Merlin trailed off as he began to read the message on the top of the other papers on the king’s desk. He read it again, brow furrowing in thought. Something tingled uneasily at the back of his mind, warning him of something slightly off about the note.

 

“ _Camelot will never be safe from us so long as magic is not free in your kingdom. Of all the kings in Albion, you are the weakest of them, Arthur Pendragon. My men laugh at your weakness and cowardice you have shown concerning your people. Even now, we plot to save your people from your inept ‘leadership’. Every sorcerer should be free, and it is your fault that we are slaves in the shadows. Meet me in the mouth of the Darkling Woods after sundown if you value your people. Remember what your father did to us; remember and despair as you face your death. Your people desire their liberty, and we will grant it to them when we kill you. Show me how ‘mighty’ you really are, little king, and come die by my hand.”_

 

Merlin frowned deeply, and on a whim tilted the page slightly, so that it caught the light differently, and noticed how much harder the author had pushed his quill into the paper on the first letter of each sentence. His instincts or magic or whatever it was started to make the hair at the back of his neck prickle. Merlin singled out the first letter of each sentence and put them side by side in his mind.

“ _C O M E E M R Y S_ ”

“‘Come Emrys’,” Merlin whispered to himself, eyes widening at the realization.

“What was that?” Arthur asked, turning to look at Merlin. “Did you _actually_ manage to finish that insult? Or are you so much of a halfwit that- _Mer_ lin, what are you doing?” Arthur interrupted himself suddenly. “Are you reading my papers?”

“I was- no!” Merlin said quickly, dropping the note back on the desk even though his heart was pounding wildly. “Just- Just tidying up a bit.” He feebly straightened a few of the papers and shot Arthur a smile. The king gave him an uncertain look.

“...Right,” Arthur drew out disbelievingly. “Because you always keep that desk so neat.”

“Sorry,” Merlin said absently, staring at the message for another moment before suddenly snapping his eyes back up to Arthur. “Are you done with that?” he asked about Arthur’s meal, and swiftly made his way around the bed to the table.

“No, I’m n- _Mer_ lin!” Arthur yelped as Merlin ‘accidentally’ knocked his plate of food on the floor.

“Whoops,” Merlin shrugged. “Clumsy me.” The plate stopped spinning with a final  _clang_.

“What was that for?” Arthur half-yelled, looking at Merlin incredulously. “I was eating that!”

“And now you’re not,” Merlin observed simply. “Can’t have you eating that now, I suppose. Shall I go get you another plate?”

“Yes!” Arthur agreed with feeling, before apparently reconsidering. “Actually, no. Don’t go _near_ my food. I don’t know how you’ve managed not to starve me thus far, as clumsy as you always are. Clean this up while I get my _own_ food.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t go down to the kitchens, sire,” Merlin said quickly as Arthur stood and stalked toward the door purposefully. “Cook doesn’t take kindly to people who try to take her food-”

“I’m the king, you dunderhead,” Arthur snorted. “I have nothing to fear from an overly large woman in an apron.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Merlin cautioned him. Did Arthur not know how a wooden spoon could be effectively wielded as a weapon? Apparently not, because the blond man just rolled his eyes at Merlin’s helpful warning.

“Do try not to knock anything else over while I’m gone,” Arthur grumbled, and swept out of the room. Merlin hurriedly gathered up the fallen remains of Arthur’s lunch and put the plate of discarded food on the edge of the table. Another five minutes and the warlock was in Gaius’s quarters, rushing to his room and hoping he had enough time before Arthur would notice his absence.

“Merlin?” Gaius asked, straightening from where he had been intent on a book by the window. “What’s your hurry?”

“Arthur… message… Darkling Woods... bad sorcerer…” Merlin got out, panting from his sprint across the castle. “Going to… stop first…”

“Oh,” Gaius sighed, then went back to his book. “Well, if you must.” Merlin ducked into his room and threw on his brown jacket over his blue shirt before racing back outside.

“Merlin!” Gaius called, and Merlin backtracked to stick his head just inside the door.

“Be careful?” the young man guessed with a slight smile. Gaius gave him a fond, if amused look.

“And to think Arthur says you’re so simple,” Gaius chuckled.

“Lucky guess,” Merlin replied with a wider grin, and then ran out of the room again. He dashed through the courtyard and to the stables, where he found a familiar knight saddling a horse.

“Gwaine!” Merlin got out, trying and failing to slow his heaving lungs.

“Merlin!” Gwaine mocked, grinning widely at Merlin’s unexpected appearance. “What are you doing in here in such a rush?”

“I’m, uh- I’m late,” Merlin lied quickly, gasping for air. “Can I... borrow... your horse?”

“My horse?” Gwaine laughed. “Are you so late that you can’t walk into town?”

“It’s not... in town,” Merlin explained, coming to stand on the other side of the horse’s head and reaching for the reins. “Please, Gwaine. You know... I wouldn’t ask unless... it was urgent.” Gwaine looked at Merlin with concern.

“Do you need me to come with you?” Gwaine asked seriously. “You can hardly breathe.” Merlin shook his head. “No, it’s a… a family thing,” he decided to say, feeling his heart finally beginning to slow after the frantic running and adrenaline rush of racing against the clock.

“If you’re sure,” Gwaine said uncertainly, and Merlin swung onto Gwaine’s horse with the ease of practice.

“I’m sure,” Merlin replied confidently, and nudged the horse forward. Gwaine let go of the reins quickly and watched as Merlin pushed the steed toward the gates.

“Does Arthur know you’re going?” Gwaine yelled as an afterthought.

“I’ll be back before he does!” Merlin yelled back across the empty courtyard, and left the castle walls with Gwaine’s laugh ringing behind him. He pushed the horse to a gallop, and Merlin reveled in the feeling of the wind whipping through his hair as he flew over the ground toward the Darkling Woods, his heart once more pounding with adrenaline.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arthur knocked on Gaius’s door, his face set in stony annoyance. After a moment, the wooden door creaked open, and the physician’s wrinkled face peered out with concern, then surprise.

“Arthur,” Gaius blurted in surprise, opening the door wider. “Er, are you alright, sire?”

“Yes, thank you,” Arthur replied shortly. “I’m looking for my idiot of a manservant. Have you seen him recently?”

“As a matter of fact, I have,” Gaius conveyed with a nod. “He was going into town, something about needing more… thread, before the market closed.”

“Thread,” Arthur repeated flatly. Gaius nodded again. “Merlin went into town this close to sunset… for thread?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t expect him back until late tonight, my lord,” Gaius told him. “Merlin takes his thread very seriously.”

“Does he,” Arthur replied derisively. He sighed heavily, fixing the physician with a hard look. “He’s in the tavern again, isn’t he?”

“Oh, no, of course not,” Gaius said very unconvincingly, his pale eyes darting to the side.

“You’re very kind to cover for him, Gaius, but let Merlin take responsibility for his own stupidity,” Arthur advised the older man. “Besides, we can start our own fires without Merlin, should we need to.” He was strangely determined about that last statement. What did Merlin know about the capabilities of knights, anyway?

“Sire?” Gaius asked in confusion when Arthur went silent.

“Oh. Nevermind.” Arthur waved away the question. “I’m going out with a patrol of knights to the Darkling Woods. We should be back by morning; I don’t expect much real trouble.”

“Sorcerers sometimes favor those woods,” Gaius cautioned the king, and Arthur nodded.

“We’ll be careful. And if you see Merlin,” Arthur added quickly, “Then tell him not to run off again. His face has an appointment with pieces of old fruits and vegetables.” Gaius smiled slightly.

“I’ll do that, sire. Good luck,” he said politely, and Arthur jogged back down the stairs to the courtyard outside, where Leon, Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan were waiting on their mounts. A page held Arthur’s horse at the ready, and the king gracefully swung into the saddle.

“No luck, my lord?” Leon asked.

“He’s gone off to the tavern again,” Arthur huffed. “Which is fine. We don’t exactly need him for this.”

“Are you sure he’s at the tavern?” Gwaine spoke up, his face unusually troubled. Arthur distractedly noticed that Gwaine wasn’t riding his usual mare, but decided it wasn’t worth commenting.

“What, thinking of going to join him?” Elyan teased him, but Gwaine strangely didn’t respond to the taunt.

“Merlin’s usually not one for much drinking,” Gwaine said instead.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Arthur snorted. “He’s spent half his work days in there. I’m forever chasing after him. Besides,” he added as he turned his horse and began to trot for the gate, “What does it matter, anyway?”

“Don’t you want to know what he’s actually doing if he’s not at the tavern?” Gwaine asked, nudging his horse to catch up to Arthur’s. The king frowned but shook his head anyway.

“It’s none of my business. And what could Merlin possibly be doing that’s of any interest to me, anyway?” Arthur replied, and Gwaine seemed to let it go at that, dropping back slightly to ride next to the other knights.

“Perhaps he’s courting a woman,” Percival suggested as they made their way out of the castle and through the upper town.

“Perhaps he’s _married_ a woman and never told us,” Leon joked, and the others laughed.

“As if _Mer_ lin could ever get a wife,” Arthur snorted, wishing Merlin was there to act all offended.

“Maybe he’s a noblewoman’s lover,” Elyan speculated with a laugh.

“She was so drawn to the power he wields as the king’s manservant,” Leon said in mock-seriousness.

“And now she’s begun to question if their love is as true as she once thought,” Percival finished dramatically, holding one hand over his heart as the others laughed.

“Perhaps he’s secretly an assassin,” Gwaine joined in at last, and the others nodded at that one, grinning.

“That’s it, he goes out and murders Arthur’s enemies in the dead of night,” Elyan agreed with a chuckle.

“With magic!” Percival added with enthusiasm, drawing peals of laughter from the others.

“Merlin the Sorcerer,” Leon said through his laughing, “Now that’s a funny thought.” Arthur suddenly noticed Gwaine wasn’t laughing as much as the others. He started to ask what was wrong, but then Gwaine grinned and made some quip about magic, and the king closed his mouth again.

Arthur must have imagined Gwaine’s pensive look about Merlin being a sorcerer. Really, the very idea was preposterous… But Arthur kept turning over Gwaine’s words from earlier, his mind uneasy for some reason.

_What does Merlin do if he’s not actually in the tavern?_

~~~~~~~~

Merlin huffed in exasperation, tugging again on the horse’s reins. The steed whuffled in a way that almost mimicked Merlin, and followed the human’s steps reluctantly.

“Stupid moles,” Merlin consoled the horse. “It’s not your fault they leave tricky holes everywhere.” The horse continued plodding along behind Merlin, favoring one hoof slightly.

“We’ll still make it by sundown,” Merlin reassured himself. And the horse. “It will be close, but Arthur was going to leave at sundown. We still have time to fight this guy and get back.” The horse snorted a little, and Merlin hoped that was horse for ‘yes, of course we will’ and not ‘you idiot, why are you talking to a horse?’.

“I hope this is the right way,” Merlin added conversationally. “I know the Darkling Woods are north of the castle, but I should have checked if they were northeast or northwest.” The horse kept walking, but his left ear twitched. Merlin took that as ‘yeah, you should have, you idiot’.

“Yes, yes, I know. Regardless,” Merlin continued, “The Darkling Woods have very distinctive trees. We’ll know it when we get there.” The horse made no discernible reaction, but Merlin was glad the horse was apparently calmer than he himself was feeling. Getting lost was not part of the plan to defeat the sorcerer quickly and run back to the castle, and after the horse was injured, they had been slowed down significantly. Merlin glanced worriedly at the steadily sinking sun.

He was running out of time.

~~~~~~~~

“Let’s dismount, and then keep moving. We don’t have long before sundown,” Arthur announced, swinging off his horse and tying her to the nearest tree at the edge of the Darkling Woods.

“Should we spread out and look for the sorcerer, sire?” Percival asked Arthur as they left the horses at the edge of the forest.

“No,” Arthur replied immediately. “Stay together. We don’t know how many men this supposed sorcerer has, and they’ve had time to learn the area and we haven’t.”

“Then how will we-” Leon cut off his sentence and gestured to something behind Arthur. The king whirled, drawing his sword, but saw nothing.

“What?” Arthur whispered.

“A flash of light,” Leon replied just as softly. “A campfire, or a spell, perhaps?”

“Move in. Stay quiet,” Arthur ordered, and as a unit the knights began to advance with minimal noise. Soon, voices were audible, and the knights chose their steps even more carefully through the underbrush.

“-not early, doesn’t mean he won’t come, my lord,” a man’s voice was saying nervously as the knights reached a clearing. About two dozen men were seated or standing around a small fire, most wearing some type of armor and all carrying weapons. The man with the most armor, standing with his back to the fire, replied to the first man as the knights eavesdropped from their hiding places in the surrounding brush.

“To my knowledge, Bear,” the leader said in a smooth, low voice, “This Emrys fellow is incredibly powerful. My little note to the king should reach his hands, if the rumors are to be believed. I would think that he would try to be here before us. Surprise attack, if you will.”

“Or perhaps he was clever enough to know that you would be camping here, and expecting him,” another man volunteered from the sidelines. The leader turned to face the fire, and the knights could see he was a handsome, surprisingly young man with a glowing yellow jewel around his neck on a chain. Actually, Arthur realized, looking more closely at the other men, they all had similar chains around their necks, perhaps with similar gems underneath their armor or clothing. Did that mean they were all sorcerers?

Arthur silently pointed out the necklaces to Elyan, who nodded his understanding, but shrugged as to the meaning of the gems. Arthur exhaled briefly in frustration and turned back to spying on the company.

“Emrys is supposed to be very wise,” another man added from his place on the ground by the fire. “Perhaps he’s so powerful that we’re beneath his notice entirely.”

“Impossible!” snapped the leader. “I threatened the Once and Future King! Emrys should be honor-bound to defend the half that makes him whole.”

“Then surely he will come! Perhaps he… got lost?” the first man speculated, and the leader turned an annoyed look on him.

“Got lost,” the leader repeated flatly, then punched the soldier in the jaw, even though the man was much larger than him. The man snarled back briefly, and for an instant, and Arthur could have sworn that the man’s teeth were larger and sharper than they should have been, and that his face had darkened somehow- but it must have been a trick of the firelight, for when Arthur looked again the man’s face was ordinary, if somewhat angry.

“I’m sure the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth does not ever just _get lost_ , you imbecilic-” The leader was cut off by someone clearing his throat very loudly. All eyes, including the knights’, turned to the interrupter. Arthur’s heart skipped a few beats at the figure standing at the edge of the small camp.

“Hello, sorry I’m nearly late,” a familiar voice said cordially. “I got lost on the way. Northeast, northwest- they’re easy to mix up sometimes.” Arthur barely remembered to breathe.

“What the _hell_ is he doing here?” Arthur hissed to Elyan. The other knight shrugged, looking just as shocked as Arthur at the fact that Merlin was standing in the clearing, bold as daylight, in front of a group of threatening sorcerers. Was the idiot _trying_ to get himself killed?

“What do we do, sire?” Leon whispered, inching closer to the king. “Do we attack?” Arthur shook his head and held up his open hand as a ‘wait’ signal to the other knights. They had to wait until they knew exactly what was going on. Merlin was- It was unthinkable, truly, that Merlin would sell them out, and yet if he wasn’t in the tavern-

“Ex _cuse_ me, who are _you_ ?” the leader sneered, looking Merlin up and down judgmentally. Arthur felt a trickle of relief at the lack of recognition. Maybe Merlin just got lost trying to follow the knights. _Idiot_.

“Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing,” Merlin replied with a little smile. _If_ _they_ _don’t kill you, you colossal idiot_ , Arthur thought with frustration, _then_ _I_ _will_. As usual, Merlin would certainly begin to aggravate the strange men with his attitude and taunts, which would ultimately make it much harder for the knights to come up with a rescue plan in time.

“We’ve no use for a skinny, rude boy who’s lost in the woods,” the leader snarled. “Bear? Kill him!” Arthur held up a hand, ready to order the knights in even without any sort of plan, when something happened almost too quickly to follow. The next time Arthur blinked, the man that the leader had punched was an _actual bear_. The armor had morphed to fit his larger body, and a glowing pendant swung free on his suddenly furry chest. The animal roared, white teeth glinting in the firelight. Arthur looked to Merlin, ready to shout a warning or leap in, sword swinging- but Merlin didn’t look even the slightest bit surprised, and certainly not afraid.

Well, at least he was a _brave_ idiot.

The bear charged and Arthur stood, but before he could run forward, Merlin stretched out a hand and the bear let loose a mournful sound, stopping in its tracks. Merlin threw his hand into the air, and the bear flew backwards, slamming into a tree and landing dazed on the ground. The whole attack was over in seconds. The men around the fire were deathly silent, and Arthur was having trouble closing his mouth.

Magic. Merlin just did _magic_.

Arthur dropped back behind the bush more to stop his knees from shaking than to hide, and absently noted that all of the knights seemed to have also forgotten how to close their gaping mouths.

“Impressive,” Merlin said in a drawl that made it clear he was actually not impressed. It was a tone Arthur knew well, and he rather hysterically wondered if now was a good time to laugh at the ridiculousness of _Merlin_ having _magic_.

“It’s the shiny necklace, I’m guessing?” Merlin was saying. Arthur found himself helpless to do anything but listen, his mind stuck on Merlin being a sorcerer and unable to gauge the threat of the other transforming men.

“It’s always something shiny with you evil sorcerer types,” Merlin finished, and Arthur felt a distant spark of hope. Maybe Merlin wasn’t an _evil_ sorcerer. Maybe he was a nice sorcerer?

Arthur wasn’t _nearly_ drunk enough to process this yet.

“You didn’t use any incantations,” the leader said instead of answering the question, looking warily at Merlin.

“Do all of you turn into bears?” Merlin asked the gathered men, easily ignoring the leader. “Or do you get to pick an animal to turn into? Now tell me, which one of you is a squirrel?” Merlin asked mock-seriously.

“Enough!” the leader snapped. Arthur couldn’t blame him. Merlin- even Merlin with _magic_ , apparently- was often infuriating. “You- You can’t be Emrys! You’re far too young!”

“I suppose that rumor is my fault,” Merlin shared conversationally, walking to the fallen bear. He leaned over, studying the glowing jewel around the bear’s neck, and then snatched it, breaking the chain with a solid yank. Immediately, the bear morphed back into an unconscious man, who was dreadfully scratched and bruised. Whatever magical thingy Merlin had thrown him with seemed to have done more than just knock him into a tree.

“You’re not him,” the leader said again, though he sounded much less certain. “You don’t have… the power.”

“The power to do what?” Merlin asked, standing to face the leader with Bear’s green jewel dangling from his hand. “Take down your little group of transformers? Oh,” Merlin chuckled a little, but it wasn’t a usual Merlin sound. It was completely devoid of any mirth, cold and dark like the frostiest winter’s night. Arthur could never have imagined Merlin making a cruel sound like that, but now here he was, hearing a frankly terrifying laugh come from Merlin’s lips. Arthur felt a chill run up his spine that had nothing to do with the night air. Merlin was a sorcerer- was he a traitor, too?

“I assure you,” Merlin continued, taking a menacing step toward the leader, “I can wipe you out with my eyes closed. I am the destroyer of armies. I am the mover of mountains. I am the commander of the tides. I am the protector of the Once and Future King. I don’t toy with the magic of the universe like you do; I _am_ magic. And if that’s not convincing, then let me introduce myself properly.” Merlin- if it really was Merlin- released the broken necklace, but it didn’t fall. The gem and chain hovered midair, and Merlin held out his palm facing it. The half of Merlin’s face that was visible to Arthur was closed and calculating, and nothing like the ever-cheerful manservant Arthur thought he knew. Arthur had seen mere glimpses of something dark under Merlin’s dopey exterior before, but this sorcerer addressed by another name… This was beyond anything Arthur could have imagined coming from his best friend.

Merlin spoke an unfamiliar word and simultaneously clenched his fist. The green jewel sparked once, and then cracked loudly and became visibly dull. Merlin opened his hand and dropped his arm, letting the clearly disenchanted necklace fall to the ground.

“See, you made one very big mistake by sending a message meant for me to the King of Camelot,” Merlin told the leader. The armored leader backed away, looking almost frightened of the younger, unarmed man in front of him. “Because you were right: I am Emrys. And you have foolishly threatened my King.”

“I- We’re sorry!” the leader blurted, stepping back again as Merlin- Emrys?- advanced. “I thought you would wish to free the sorcerers in Camelot. I thought you would join us! We are stronger together!”

“You are weak!” Merlin snapped. “You are cowardly! Really, calling non-magical knights to a magical combat? And if you hadn’t noticed, people who threaten Arthur usually die in a painful way! How would you like to get struck by lightning? Poisoned? Choked? Set on fire? Buried under rocks? Stabbed?” Merlin was yelling now, a truly rare and terrifying sight that Arthur himself tried to avoid at all costs. The blue light swirling and sparking around Merlin’s hands was new, but definitely made Merlin’s rage appear far more intimidating.

“If you won’t join us, we will fight the last Pendragon alone!” the leader yelled, and there was some rather weak cheering from the other men as they all scooted back from Merlin’s approach. “Transform! Transform, m-my brethren, and take back our country!”

In seconds, Merlin was surrounded by armored beasts of all kinds: wolves, bears, huge serpents, and what might have been a pair of lions somewhere in the back.

“You’re making a mistake!” Merlin yelled. “You don’t have to face the wrath of Emrys if you give your amulets up now!”

“He’s lying! He will destroy us all! He is a traitor to our people and-” The leader’s harsh words were cut off by Merlin throwing him into a tree with magic. Arthur noticed this time, as the sky darkened further, that his eyes certainly flashed gold. The animal-mercenaries didn’t seem too pleased about their leader getting tossed off into the woods, however, and began to stalk closer to Merlin. They were apparently wary of his magic, but also angry, and they had strength in numbers that Merlin couldn’t match. Merlin lowered his hand and turned away from the fallen leader, only to find the beasts surrounding him, menacingly growling as they made their way closer and closer.

“Nice doggie,” Merlin said nervously as a wolf advanced. “Stay back! The might of, uh, the world, is mine! Away, you… beasts!” Arthur didn’t know if Merlin really was this Emrys guy or not, and he wasn’t sure he trusted Merlin right now. But Arthur was well-aware that if your best friend was being attacked by ferocious magically-enhanced animals, generally it was a good idea to help.

“Attack!” Arthur roared, and the knights surged out of the underbrush, waving their swords and yelling ferocious battle cries.

“Arthur?!” Merlin yelped, understandably shocked at the sudden appearance of the knights. An impossibly enormous snake lunged at Arthur- he decapitated it easily, the glowing necklace spinning off into the forest.

“You have a lot of explaining to do, Merlin!” Arthur yelled over the sounds of battle. Merlin twisted his hand as his eyes glowed, and five of the inhuman attackers fell down around him, either dead or stunned.

“I know, I will!” Merlin shouted back as easily as if he had just coughed instead of taken down a number of attackers at once. “But I had this well under control! What are you doing here?” Arthur punched a wolf on the muzzle, and the beast whimpered and retreated. Merlin shouted a foreign word, and several animals caught fire.

“You’re an idiot, d’you know that?” Arthur said in reply, cutting down a rearing horse with one broad stroke of his sword.

“Yep!” Merlin answered cheerfully, and then shouted unfamiliar gibberish at length. Instantaneously, every animal attacking them froze. A few fell over without motion to help them balance, and after a few moments of stunned silence, Arthur vaguely realized that his jaw was open.

“Useful spell, that,” Merlin told the knights pleasantly, though Arthur noticed that his breathing was rather labored. “It was a load of trouble to get the words right, though.” Merlin took in the array of expressions he was getting from the knights. Arthur expected the mix included mistrustful, angry, suspicious, fearful, curious, awed, surprised… Well, that’s what Arthur was feeling anyway. He wasn’t entirely sure which emotion made its way onto his countenance, or what the other knights were feeling about this impossible development.

Merlin turned away after a moment without commenting on what he saw, for once. He started visiting every animal, breaking the chains around their necks and carrying the magical gems himself. As he stole from each beast, he left a trail of motionless human men behind. _All their transformation magic really must have been contained in the pendants,_ Arthur realized. And besides the terrifying beasts returning to human form once the necklace was taken, the frozen creatures were kept completely immobile by magic- _Merlin’s_ magic- so there was no need to guard the enemy combatants until they reawoke. Arthur looked to his men, who seemed a little at a loss for what to do in this situation. Perhaps they were waiting for a cue from their king?

“Let's get these amulets destroyed,” Arthur said quietly, and yanked one off a lion. The armored man fell to the ground, but he remained unnaturally still from the effects of Merlin’s spell. The other knights followed Arthur’s lead with varying degrees of hesitancy, snapping the chains of the magical gems and transforming the animals back into men one by one.

“Are they dead?” Elyan asked, studying one man after taking his amulet.

“No,” Merlin replied from a few steps away, “They're frozen in time, actually. I kept doing it by accident, until I decided a spell to do it on purpose with more than one object at a time might be useful.”

“You kept _stopping time_ by _accident_?” Arthur repeated incredulously, pausing in the middle of removing a necklace from a wildcat.

“It was instinctive,” Merlin shrugged, seeming almost embarrassed by the admission. After a long moment to process the fact that Merlin could _stop time at will_ , Arthur shook his head and silently went back to taking up magical pendants.

“How long have you been practicing magic?” Percival asked quietly, handing Merlin his fistful of magical gems.

“I never started,” Merlin replied readily. “I was born with magic. I started moving things without touching them before I could talk.” Unintentionally, almost every knight took a little step back from Merlin. Arthur saw the exact moment that Merlin noticed it, too, because his face fell ever so slightly. Honestly, Merlin’s face showed every emotion. How in the world had he managed to keep such a big secret hidden from so many? Hidden from _Arthur_?

“And you... kill people who are threats to Camelot?” Leon asked after a moment to let the last revelation sink in.

“Every other day,” Merlin sighed, then pointed at Arthur, who unintentionally flinched. He had seen what Merlin could do with gestures- it was a natural reaction! Still, Merlin noticed, and his frown deepened to something even more sad as he continued talking. “ _You_ are a lot of trouble to keep alive. If you hurried up and made magic legal again, then my job might be easier.”

“And what is your ‘job’, exactly?” Gwaine asked suspiciously, as Merlin dropped his hand and looked back at Gwaine, who continued, “I thought you already had a job as the king’s manservant.”

“That's the only one I get _paid_ for,” Merlin replied with a slight smile. “But my destiny is to protect Arthur. He's the Once and Future King, destined to rule all of Albion.” The knights all stopped gathering necklaces and stared at Arthur. Merlin might as well have put his motionless time spell on the knights from the lack of movement among them.

“What?” Arthur laughed, looking at his knights for support for his humor and finding only surprised, thoughtful faces. Arthur’s smile slid off his face. “Hang on, I can’t just do that!”

“It's your destiny,” Merlin replied seriously. “Which I know must be shocking, since you can be such a dollophead, but even I somehow still have complete faith in you.” And he looked like he meant that, with his wide blue eyes shining and his mouth turned up into a proud smile. Then again, Arthur knew Merlin’s looks were deceiving- he had looked like an ordinary manservant.

“How do you know all this?” Arthur demanded, uncomfortable with every pair of eyes on him now instead of Merlin.

“Talking to a dragon, mostly,” Merlin answered easily, but Arthur noticed the tightness of his shoulders. For the first time, Arthur realized that it must be difficult for Merlin to admit his magical knowledge after he had long kept it all secret. “Also, looking into magical crystals on occasion, talking to Druids… Oh, and all the vague threats from your enemies helped too. I really thought you might already know about me by now.” Silence filled the clearing.

“You really are Emrys?” Percival asked quietly, taking a tentative step closer to Merlin. “I used to hear stories about him when I was a child.”

“Really?” Merlin- er, Emrys, apparently- said in surprise, and he looked rather nervous at the large knight coming so close to him. “That's… a little unnerving. But yes, I'm really Emrys.”

“So why did you pretend to be Merlin?” Elyan asked in confusion. Arthur was thinking the same thing.

“Pretend to be…” Emrys looked baffled for a moment, before understanding visibly broke though. “Oh! No, no, Emrys is just a name. It's like… a title. I wasn't pretending to be anyone. I just kept that Druidic name secret to save myself from execution. Speaking of which-” Emrys- Merlin?- turned an uncertain look on Arthur. “Are you going to have me executed? I'll follow whatever decision you make, but personally I don’t want to see myself condemned to prison or a pyre.”

“You could escape either without even trying,” Arthur observed a little grumpily. “Why ask me?”

“You're my king,” Em- fine, Arthur was just going to stick with Merlin- answered seriously. “I told you I was happy to be your servant until I die, and I meant that. Even if I die by your hand.” Arthur considered it for a moment, and found that he felt vaguely sick to his stomach at the thought of killing Merlin. So that decided that.

“I'm not going to execute you for using magic to _help_ me, you idiot,” Arthur snorted, then stopped, glancing warily at Merlin as something occurred to him. “If I call you an idiot, are you going to curse me?” Merlin’s face lit up in a very disconcerting way.

“Ha, I can do that now!” he laughed, before seeing the worried faces surrounding him. Merlin coughed slightly and recovered a more serious expression. “Uh, no. No cursing of my friends.”

“Good,” Arthur said with relief. “Then we're going back to the castle.”

“Hang on,” Merlin stopped him, “I need to destroy these things.” He held up his handful of chains with their glowing jewels and then dropped them on the ground. The other knights added the few they had collected to the pile, until every gem was in one spot. When Merlin had them all, he shouted some sort of spell, and the pile burst into unnaturally hot white flame.

The knights and Arthur all backed away from the powerful, dangerous, and clearly magical fire.

Merlin warmed his hands on it as casually as if he had just started a small campfire with flint.

“I think I'd like to wake up now,” Gwaine whispered to Elyan, and Arthur silently agreed. This had to be some sort of crazy dream, where Merlin had powerful magic and was the one protecting Arthur, not the other way around like it had been.

Like Arthur only _thought_ it had been.

Merlin said another word, and the fire went out immediately, leaving melted rivulets of metal and cracked, dark husks of gems behind. Arthur tried valiantly to not see it as a metaphor.

“Dragon fire is very good at destroying magical items,” Merlin shared helpfully, entirely unconcerned about the powerful fire he had just created.

“Good to know,” Arthur agreed rather weakly. Merlin said another string of odd words, and the men left on the ground regained their motion. They looked dazed, and not at all as murderous as they had before Merlin’s spell.

“If you attack Camelot again,” Merlin said in a commanding tone loud enough for them all to hear, “I will not be so merciful.”

“Yes, Lord Emrys,” several of the men muttered, and they all retreated with tails- thankfully metaphorical, this time- between their legs off into the forest. Arthur repressed the slight urge to do the same. He wanted talkative, idiotic, cheerful Merlin back. Not a powerful wizard who could scare off dozens of men and freeze time and summon dragon fire and… Dang, Arthur might actually be _scared_ of Merlin’s power as Emrys. This was a new Merlin; a Merlin with powerful magic who could lie to his best friend for years.

“Oh, and Gwaine,” Merlin said suddenly, and Arthur tore himself out of his thoughts to listen, “Your horse stepped in a hole in the way here. I think he's hurt.” The others stared at Gwaine, who rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, a sheepish grin on his face. Arthur, with some difficulty, resisted the temptation to scream ‘You gave Merlin your horse and now ruined my best friendship?’.

“Can't you do a healing spell?” Percival asked. Merlin winced.

“I am _not_ good at healing spells,” he shared ruefully. “I can try, but for some reason it's difficult for me to heal things successfully.”

“So you're saying even Emrys isn't good at everything?” Gwaine teased rather tentatively. Merlin laughed, and Gwaine visibly relaxed at not disappearing in a plume of the scary white fire.

“No way! Just ask Arthur for the full list of my faults,” Merlin replied, grinning at the king. Arthur smiled back a little, not as genuine as usual, but it was there. He had expected it to be difficult to trust Merlin after this, and he certainly needed time to process the world getting flipped on its head… But this was still Merlin. Even with magic, Merlin was slowly proving to be the same person with a bad attitude and a chipper smile. He was probably still rubbish at cleaning, too.

“I gave up on a list and wrote a book,” Arthur replied dryly, if a little late, and some of the others laughed. The world felt like it was supposed to again, just for a moment. “At the top of the list is lying,” Arthur added softly enough so that just Merlin would hear as the knights began preparing to ride back. The sorcerer winced.

“I was going to tell you,” he protested rather weakly. “I thought there would be a better time.”

“This worked out fairly well,” Arthur observed, then leveled his best glare at Merlin. He added in an even lower growl, “Lie to me like this again, and I might have to think longer about execution.”

“That's fair,” Merlin agreed, grinning widely in the knowledge that the king would never follow through with a death penalty, and Arthur couldn't help but give a tiny smile back. Trust had been broken. But this was Merlin, and if Arthur couldn’t trust him, then Arthur couldn’t trust anyone. Merlin had said something about ruling all Albion, and if he was right about that, then Arthur was going to need all the help he could get. Magical best friend included.

“So, you don't spend much time in the tavern at all, do you?” Gwaine asked, slinging a slightly wary but still friendly arm around Merlin’s shoulders and winking at Arthur as if to say, ‘I told you so’.

~~~~~~~~

Deep in the Darkling Woods, a rather large and strangely armored squirrel was huddled on a tree branch, chattering angrily to himself under the moonlight. The yellow pendant around his neck glowed even brighter in the darkness, illuminating the squirrel’s unnaturally intelligent, almost human eyes.

“Soon,” the squirrel thought viciously toward the castle of Camelot. “Soon I will strike with the force of ten thousand men. Your precious Camelot will fall, with or without the supposedly powerful Emrys. I will come in the dead of night when you are weak and vulnerable, and your entire evil land will feel the sting of my-”

An owl swooped silently out of the night sky, and snatched the squirrel out of the tree. The small rodent screamed, and then suddenly transformed into a man as he was whisked over the treetops. The owl screeched in surprise and released the heavy load, darting away to find better hunting.

In hindsight, the leader thought while screaming as he fell, changing form so high in the air had been a rather poor decision.

The magical pendant cracked and became dull under the heavy impact.

And Arthur and Merlin’s Camelot slept safely.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this far! Stick a comment below, I'd really appreciate it.
> 
> (Edit: If you enjoyed this piece, you might enjoy [Merlin Has a Dragon (And Other Revelations)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11827698) also written by me! Just a suggestion, of course.)


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